Review: Hybrid 2: Saga of Nostalgia - Button Mashing Through Different Dimensions
by Felix Xiao
September 15, 2010
Overview
There's a famous proverb that bad things happen to those who try to alter the dimensions of time and reality. Well, maybe not, but that's the case with GAMEVIL's new side-scrolling RPG hack'n slash. When a powerful force disrupts the structure of a mysterious sphere, the entire world is thrown into a paradox where the events of the past are altered. Your hero, Grey, must then use his abilities to travel through these dimensions to find his beloved fairy in an action-filled button mashing adventure.Features
Hybrid 2 builds on the storyline from the first Hybrid: Eternal Whisper game, and contains over 200 battlefields with many essential and optional quests to complete. There are dozens of skills to upgrade, items to equip, and a plethora of menacing enemies scattered across maps with various climates and terrain. Grey has 3 attack buttons that can be used in specific combinations to perform lethal combos with piercing effects. The many included cutscenes will keep you focused on not just the game, but the epic storyline as well.
The Good
The game provides you with many hours of solid gameplay that beats both that of the first Hybrid game and other side-scrolling RPGs, such as Caligo Chaser. Upon entrance of each battlefield, several monsters will appear, and you have the option of either fighting them off to gain experience or running to the other end of the map while dodging their attacks. Hybrid 2 has an insane amount of enemies and levels, allowing you to slash through vile monsters as often as you want. Another great thing about the game is that you can take on many quests, some of which actually change the outcome of events in the story. Scattered in the numerous battlefields are cities where Grey can interact with merchants and townspeople. They provide enhanced weaponry and often send you on side missions to earn bonus experience. Every time you level up, you earn several power and skill points. Grey has 4 main attributes and many skills that you can choose to use and upgrade. Leveling up also allows Grey to equip swords and armor that provide extra defense against tough monsters.
The game includes great scrolling backgrounds that look stunning on any device. All the cutscenes are also created beautifully, and an option is included in case you don't feel like tapping through them.
The Bad
The further you advance into the game, the tougher the enemies get, and your weapons don't become more effective at nearly the same rate. This basically means that you will need to press the 3 buttons on your screen more frequently and at a higher speed, turning the game into a repetitive button mashing frenzy.
The controls work in a somewhat awkward manner, even though the game lets you move them to any desired location on the screen. When you tap a direction on the movement pad, Grey moves at an extremely slow speed. However, tapping on the same button again sends Grey dashing much too far and often beyond the intended location. This gets especially frustrating in the heat of battle, when you can't move into a good spot to inflict damage on your enemies.
